Dominion by Marissa Farrar Read Free Book Online Page A

better for Elizabeth to be at home.

Chapter Five
     
     
    Sebastian opened his eyes and started back in surprise. He’d been expecting Serenity, but instead Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed, drumming her heels against the base.
    “Elizabeth?”
    She tu rned at his voice and her eyes widened with delight. “Daddy!”
    His daughter jumped on him, her arms wrapping around his neck in a hug.
    Each time he woke, Elizabeth seemed to have grown just a little bit bigger. T he way she’d transformed from a c ute, chubby toddler to the long- limbed child she was today was almost miraculous. Tall for her age, Sebastian was starting to see the young adult she would become. Nothing made him more aware of the passing of time than watching Elizabeth grow up. Where previously nothing in his existence changed, she was a constant reminder of his own stasis.
    His dream of the strange city lingered with him . D ream ... vampires don’t dream!   Finding Elizabeth here instead of Serenity furthered his confusion.
    “Shouldn’t you still be on your trip?” he asked.
    “Mommy came and got me early. I was having bad dreams again. I dreamed something bad hurt you.”
    His mind went to the incident with the body in the forest, how its dead eyes still managed to glare with hatred. How it had kept on coming, even after he’d broken the thing’s neck.
    He forced a smile. “I’m right here, as you can see. No one has got me and I’m not planning on going anywhere.”
    Uncertainty rippled across her small features, her eyes large and worried, but she returned the smile.
    He gave her a squeeze and kissed the top of her head. “Well , I’m glad you’re home anyway. Where’s your mom?”
    “Downstairs. I think she’s mad at you.”
    Sebastian grimaced. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go down and check.”
    He swung his legs off the bed and took Elizabeth’s hand. Together , they made their way downstairs to find Serenity sitting at the kitchen counter, a cold mug of coffee clutched between her hands. She looked up , but didn’t smile at the sight of him.
    “Elizabeth told me about her nightmares,” he said. “And that you had to go and pick her up.”
    Serenity pushed a hand through her hair, tucking some of the l ong strands behind her ear. “Her Girl Scout leader called and said we needed to come get her. She had another bad dream in the car on the way home, didn’t you , honey?” Elizabeth pressed her lips together and nodded. “She’s dreaming about you.”
    The words hung in the air like an accusation.
    “I know,” Sebastian said eventually. “She told me.”
    “Does she have any reason to be?”
    “Not that I’m aware of, Serenity.” His gaze flicked to where Elizabeth had positioned herself on the stool beside her mother. He didn’t intend on discuss ing what happened in the f orest with Elizabeth right beside them . If she was having nightmares before, she’d be guaranteed to suffer even worse after hearing about that !
    Serenity must have sensed his reluctance to talk. “Hey , Elizabeth, you want to go watch some television for a bit?”
    Neither of them liked to use the television as a babysitter, but sometimes necessity overruled good parenting.
    “Sure!” Elizabeth bounced down from the stool and ran into the living room. She was old enough to work the flat screen by herself now , and within seconds , the sound of cartoons filled the house.
    Serenity ’s eyes were fixed on a spot between Sebastian’s shoulder and neck . “Don’t you think you should have changed your shirt?”
    He frowned and lifted his hand to pull his collar out into his line of vision. He’d thought his jacket had protected the rest of his clothing, so he’d removed the item when he’d come home and washed his hands and face. The specks of blood on his shirt were tiny, but they hadn’t escaped Serenity’s attention.
    Damn it. How had he missed them ? He was slipping — off his game.
    “Serenity, it’s not what